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013 789 585 7 



pH&S 



^675 i^jjg Administration Vindicated. 

• W74 

Copy 1 

S II IE JiLi CJ! JE3I 

senator" riLSON, 



COOPER INSTITUTE, 
NEW YORK. 



Mr. President and Fellow- Citizens of New 
York : 

In obedience to your commands I am here 
to speak for the unity and triumph of the Re- 
publican party of the United States. I am a 
Republican ffom conviction and by associa- 
tion. 1 care far more for the Republican 
party than for the interests, aspirations, and 
ambitions of any thousand men in America. 
[Applause.] I labored from the year 183G 
to the year 1856 — twenty years — to create a 
great, patriotic, liberty-loving organization 
that should make the Republic of the United 
States a free land. [Applause.] Sixteen 
years ago the Republican party was brought 
into existence. I re'.i.^iously believe that it 
came into being through the prayer.=i, the 
labors, and noblest aspirations of the best 
portion of our countrymen. [Applause.] I 
believe, too, that it was brought into existence 
to meet the needs of the endangered coun- 
try, and to work cut in America the plans 
of Almighty God. [Applause.] And so 
believing, from the time it was created un- 
til this hour, I have never consciously ut- 
tered a word or performed an act to drive 
any man out of its ranks. AVhoever has left 
us in the past has left us against my wishes, 
and whoever shall leave us now, or in the 
future, will leave us against ray protesta- 
tions. I implore, in words of earnest en- 
treaty, every Republican who would turn 
his back on our grand organization, with 
its brilliant deeds and glorious achieve- 
ments, to pause, to comeback, to stand with 
us, to fight with us the battle of this year, 
and to share with us in the triumphs of the 
future. [Cheers.] 

The Republican party has in its ranks 
three and a half millions of mien. It has in 
its organization the masses of the noblest, 
purest, and best portions of our countrymen. 
[Cheers. ] Bat Republicans are not all wise, 
trail good. They Lave the imperfections of 



our common nature. Bu. I would not disrupt 
the Republican party because its members 
are not all perfect. I would hope on, toil 
on, make them better if I could, make them 
worthy of its gteat history, true exponents 
I of its great principles. [Applause.] i would 
as soon go home and disband the little church 
in the town in which I live, of which my de- 
[ parted wife was a member and I an unworthy 
one, because some Christian minister proved 
false to his God, or some poor, weak, falli- 
ble member did jmi live up to the profes- 
sion he had mailHA 

Men of New yWk ! I speak to you to- 
night from the deepest convictions of my 
soul. I pray you who have stood with th-- 
Republican party ; you who voted for and 
stood by the grandest character of our cen- 
tury, Abraham Lincoln: [great cheers ;] 
you who waded through four years ol blood 
to maintain the unity of your country and 
the authority of yaur Government ; you who 
emancipated a race ; you who repudiated 
Andrew Johnson and his treason, and who 
spurned his patronage; [applause.] I im- 
plore you who voted for the great soldier in 
1868, [applause,] and who have put your 
country on the side of liberty, jiHtice» hu- 
manity, and Christian civilization, to stand 
together now, win another great victory, 
and rejoice again in the triumph of the 
good old cause. [Applause.] 
-Gentlemen, there was a meeting here the 
Qther night of those who propose to disrupt 
the Republican organization, which has 
achievea so much in the past, and in which 
are centered so many hopes for the future. 
These gentlemen propose to take a new de- 
parture. Forgetful of the precious memo- 
ries of the past, and the associations of the 
present, they seek to form new combina- 
tions and new friendships. I have no unkind 
or reproachfal words to utter of old com- 
rades. I did not come here to i'npeacii 



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(ins 



their motives, or to traduce their characters. 
1 must, however, express my utter surprise 
aud my profound regret at their words of 
condemnation of the great party with which 
they have act-ed, and whose principles, meas- 
ures, and policy they have so long sus- 
tained. • 

These honorable gentlemen tell us that 
the Republican party is under ihe control 
aud domiuatiou of office-holders. So they 
propose, without a struggle, to go to the 
Cincinnati Convention. The Republican 
party under the control of office-holders! 
A party ot three and a half millions of iy 
teliigent aud iudepeudent men controlled 
by a few thousand beggarly office-holders ! 
The idea is simply ridiculous. There never 
was a momeut in our history when office- 
bolders were so impotent as now. To be an 
office-holder jk to be a beggar. The offices 
of the country hardly pay a decent support 
to nine-tenths of those who hold them. 
You know it, I know it, the country knows 
it. Thirty years ago office- holding was 
something; it was a great object of ambi- 
tiou. If not an avenue to wealth, it was 
an avenue to social distinction and per- 
sonal iufluenje and consideration. A 
■great change has taken place, and greater 
changes will take place. Every day otBce- 
holding becomes less aud lesg an avenue to 
wealth, social distinction, aua'tfersonal con- 
sideration. Everybody sees thre, everybody 
feels it. The professions, the great indus- 
trial interests of the country, yearly draw to 
themselves more aud more the talent, the 
enterprise, aud the ambition of the nation. 
Look at the learned professions. Lavvyers j 
now receive fees that Daniel Webster aud j 
the learned jurists of his day never dreamed ^ 
of receiving. Look at your railroads and your i 
telegraph lines, with their vast capital and 
patronage, your banks aud iusurauce com- 
panies, your mercantile associations aud [ 
manufacturing corporations, with their thou- j 
sands of mil-lious of capital, aad their billions 
of productioa. These professions, tues'^ in- 
dustrial pursuits open avenues for talent j 
and enterprise, and ofler rewards not to be j 
won ou the theatre of political acLion. 
They ai'e these professional men, these 
builders and operators of railroads aud telo- 1 
graphs, these bankers and merchants,; thesa 
workers iu the great industries of our time, 
that build the hue houses and live ia thcai, j 
that have paintings, sLalues, and libraries, 
and possess all the comforts and luxuries 
that adora aud render attractive social life. 
Ofthesisty thousaudoffice-holdors more than [ 
forty tiioiisaad are postm'.istQrs, thsii' clerks 
and ecapioyees. Nearly half of these post- 
masters receive talarisa of less than two ; 
hundred dolUrs a year ; and these poor 
office-holders, with small salaries, hardly f 
large enough to feed and cloth-e them audi 



their families or to bury them when dead, ate 
said by those who ought to knoiv better, to 
hold the Republican party and this natiau 
of forty millions in thraidom. To e'^cape 
from the iron rule of a few thousand of illy- 
paid and half starved office-holders, Mr. 
Schurz and Mr. Trumbull aud other hoj5- 
orable gentlemen, with incomes and profes- 
sional salaries of thousands per anaum, 
make a journey to Cincinnati. 

They teM us that the National Republican 
Convention, which is to assemble iu Phila- 
delphia in June next, is to be the office- 
holders' con\'ention. Suppose we say that 
the convention which is to meet at Cincin- 
nati at an earlier day, is to be the office- 
seekers' convention. I do not say it, but 
you can think what you will about it. The 
indications are that" a great many ex-office- 
holders will be there ; and of those who have 
sought office in vain, not a few. [Laughter.] 
Gentlemen, I have no hesitation in saying 
that the Republican National Convention, 
which will meet in Philadelphia, will have 
fewer office-holders in it, and fewer mem- 
bers of Congress in it, than have assembled 
in any convention of the party, in power, 
for thirty years. Office-holders have had 
little to do with the elec:ion of delegates, 
and few of them have been elected as dele- 
gates. In looking over -the delegations of 
eight States I find but five office-holders 
among them all. That convention will act 
be elected or controlled by the patronage of 
the Government. The unity touching the 
choice of the candidate for the Presidency 
was not secured by the labors of office- 
holders or by the patronage of the Govern- 
ment. Where there are the fewest office- 
holders and the least patronage there is the 
most unity. Go to the seeti 3us of our coun- 
try where they have few office-holders and' 
little patronage, and you will flud the Re- 
publican party united in supporting tha 
measures of the Administration, and quite 
unanimous in favor of the re-election ^f 
President Grant. Patronage, not principle, 
breeds dissensions in the Republican ranks, 
in your city of New York, in Philadelphia, 
New Oideaiis, aud other large ci.ies, where 
there are raany o(H;e-holders and large pat- 
ronage, there arc disseasions and divisions. 
jl^s olllce holding aad offiee-seekii!g, this 
mstribution of patronage, and ihesa little per- 
sonal and petty acibitiocs, are alone break- 
ing the unity of tt\s Republircan party and 
iuviting disaster. ' The le-idiug ideas and 
priuclplis, measures and policy of the Re- 
publican party, are stronger to-day thj-Q the 
party itself. Fiieud and foe alike see this, 
realize it, admii it. [Applause-] 

Accusations are burled with unsparing 
hand against President Grant, Congress, and 
the Republican party. In this work of criti- 
cism, accusation, aud denunciatiou, Repub- 



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^ lican voices and presses take the lead ; and 

>^gentlemen, bearing the Republican name, in 

^^fitriking at the Administration, sometimes 

.seems to lose the sense of justice and the love 

Hof fairplay. Mr. Trumbull, with whom I have 

-eerved seventeen years in the Senate, and 

^ /whom I have long honored and respected, 

vlefc his post of duty, as I have done, and 

(^addressed the citizens of New York in this 

hall the other night. I have ir, not in my 

heart to say an unkind -word of him, but 

truth compels me to declare that every man 

in the country, who heard or read that 

speech, and who is an intelligent and fair 

minded man, instantly pronounced it to be 

unfounded and disingenuous. 

Among the accusations brought against 
the Republican party, was the charge that 
disabilities had been kept upon certain men 
of the South. Did not Mr. Trumbull vpte 
for impeding disabilities upon that class of 
Southern men? On this subject of political 
disabilities I claim that I have a right to 
ppeyk ; for I stood up alone in tlie Republi 
can caucus, and voted against incorporating 
that clause in the Fourteenth Amendment. 
.[.\pplause.] 1 did not believe that it wxis 
wise, or politically expedient, to adopt a 
provision of that kind, and in that form. 
But I aequipsced in the judgment of my po- 
litical associates, as I haveoften done, voted | 
for the proposition in the Senate, and sup- 
ported it before the people. I have been for 
jears for removing these disabilities from 
all but the few men who left the Cabinet, the ' 
Senate, and the HousC; and joined the ene- 
mies of their country. If any of the men who 
left tbo?e chambers, and raised their hands 
against their country', but who have borne 
themselves, since the war, like good citi- 
zens, ask me to remove their disabilities I 
will vote most cheerfully to do so. ^Ir. 
Trumbull knew, when he arraigned Con- 
gress for illiberality, that the disabilities of 
hundreds of mejj who had not given in their 
adhesion to the Republica.n party, had been 
removed. He knew thut there were .«everal 
officers of the rebel army, colonels and 
generals, who were members of the House of 
Representatives, whose disabilities were re- 
moved by the Republicans, knowing that 
they were their political foee. 

In his annual message in December last, 
President Grant, animated by the same spirit 
of liberality towards his erring countrymen 
that he exhibited at Appomattox, when the 
rebel chieftain surrendertwl his army, recom- 
mended the removal of these political disa- 
bilities. The House of Representatives, by 
an almost unanimo'is vote, hastened to pass 
a bill for this removal. It came from the 
House to the Senate and was taken up for 
consideration before the holidays. Mr. Sum- 
ner moved to put upon the bill a provision, 
securing civil rights to all, so that when the 



nation gave amnesty, it should give protec- 
tion also ; a protracted debate ensued ; ac- 
tic^n was delayed. Some of us thought that 
if we were to be merciful to the rebels we 
should, at the same time, dem.-iad justice for 
the freedmen. I voted for that atnendmer*, 
others voted for it. It was then put nj rn 
the bill by the casting vote of the Vic. ^ f ,\- 
dent, and the amnesty bill was ther ost li/ 
a vote of -Vi to 1'.). Mr. Trumbuli, Mr. 
Schurz, and Mr. Tipton, who now propose 
to go to Cincinnati to get amnesty, had it in 
their power to pass the amnesty bill through 
the Senate. .Mr. Sclnirz did not vote ; and 
Mr. Trumbull and Mr. Tipton voted against 
it. If they had voted for it, it would have 
passed the Senate by a vote of 86 to 17 — 
more than the required two-thirds vote. 
When Mr- Trumbull arraigned us here for 
the defeat of .nmnesty, he knew that the bill 
was defeated in the Senate by his own vote 
and the vote of Mr. Tipton, and that the re- 
sponsibility for the defeat of the measure in 
that hody rested upon them. He knew, too, 
that an effort has been making for several 
weeks to pass a civil rights bill through the 
House, so that we could have before the Sen- 
ate, at the same time, two measures, one for 
civil rights, and the other for amnesty, and 
thus be aide to pass them both. I hojie, and 
I expect, that measures for civil right?, and 
for amnesty will be i)assed at this session,' 
and in that hope and expectation I shall la- 
bor on to accomplish those desired results. 
Mr. Truoibullgoesto Cincinnati to get civil 
service refform. But surely Mr. Trumbull 
could not have forgotten thm General Grant 
had recommended civil service reform in his 
anniial message of 1870, and that, upon his . 
own motion, an appropriation was made to 
begin the reform the President had so earn- 
estly recommended. The President ap- 
pointed ail r.ble commission, upon which he 
placed suili men as Mr. Catteli. of New .Jer- 
sey, Mr. Medill, of Illinois, and Mr. Elliot, 
of the Treasury Department, at the head of 
which was your accomplished fellow-citizen, 
George W. Curtis, [Applnuse.] Thateom- 
raission has beeii sitting for many months, 
and has given to the subject the most search- 
ing examination. It presented a partial 
plan, accompanied by an elaborate report, 
which the President laid before Congress. 
But Congress failing to act, and the plan re- 
ported proving, in some of its details, im- 
practicable, the commission, afier further 
consideration, agreed upon a more practical 
measure, which has been accepted by the 
President and proclaimed by him to the 
country this day. [Applause ] 

During General Grant's administration, 
the executive departments at Washington 
have been largely reorganized, systemat- 
ized, and improved. The employees have 
been reduced in number and improved 



in quality. 1 have no lu .■■itatioti in say- 
ing that tlie offices in V"'ii.sliingt(fti have 
not been, in many years, .so well filled 
as they have been uiider this Admin- 
istration. The Secretary ..f the Treasury 
said to me the other day that li^had no hes 
itation in saying that tlii.s dt',iartment, with 
its two thousand clerks and employees, would 
not suffer in comparison wiili the banks and 
great business establishmenti; of New I'ork. 
In .s.pite of these recommenihitions, and this 
action of the President and the heads of 
departments, in which many reforms have 
already been inaugurated, it is proposed by 
Jilr. Trumbull and Mr. Schuvz t") go to the 
Cincinnati convention in the pursuit of civil- 
service reform. Would it not be wiser in 
these honorable gentlemen to sustain the 
President and the heads of the depavtments 
in any practicable measure that ten Is to cor- 
rect abuses, and to purify and render more 
eflicient the public service ? 

Jlr. Trumbull arraigned the President for 
having at the Executive mansion two or 
three army otheers, and for sending his mes- 
sages to the Senate by one of these army 
oiiicers. What is General Grant's offense'.'' 
It is this, and no more ; that he has in the 
Executive mansion two army officers, trusted 
personal friends, who were upon his staff for 
live years These officers are now upoa the 
stafi'of General Sherman, the commanding 
general of the army. Gen. Babcock is Com- 
missioner of the Public Buildings, v/hose 
ofnce the law requires should be filled by 
an officer of the army. General Porter and 
Coicnol Dent are permitL^. .' to go to the Ex- 
ecutive mansion, not to fill any ofhce, for 
they fill none known to the law, but ti 
aid General Grant in examiniu.^ papers and 
in reading and answering his iuimen.se cor- 
respoudeiice. This labor they perform with- 
out any compensation whatever Do you 
believe, fellow-citizens, does an}' sq,ne man 
in America believe, that the liberties of the 
country are endangered by having two army 
officers in the \Vhite House? D.^es Mr. 
Trumbull, does Mr. Schurz believe, is there 
a man in the country so timid as to believe 
that General Grant raenacei the liberties of 
the people by having with him tvv'o young 
army officers? Is there anything in the world 
more natural than that Genoal iJrant shoul..! 
desire to have with him, to aid him in his 
immense labors, men who had been with him 
in the camp and on the battle field, and in 
the intimate and confideni,i.iI relation of 
staff officers? 

Ha,d Mr. Trumbull looked into the history 
of his country he would have found that 
General Grant is not the first President who 
has desired to have around hiin some one of 
his old CDmrades in arms. The first message 
ever sent to the Senate of the United 'States 
was borne by Major General Henry Knox, 



then Secretary of War, who had been Wash- 
ington's companion inarms during the Rev- 
olution, and perhaps his most intimate per- 
sonal friend. When General Jackson came 
to the Presidency he appointed his old aide. 
Major Donelson, his secretary. General 
Taylor took with him from the army to the 
Executive Mansion his son in law. Major 
Bliss, and kept him with him so long as he 
lived. After his death that officer returned 
to the army. Were Washington and Jackson 
enemies to their country because they sent 
messages to the Senate by the hands of men 
who had been their comrades in the field? 
Did the hero of Buena Vista endanger the 
liberties of the people by taking his son-in- 
lavr and chief of staff from the army and 
sending by him messages to the Senate? 

Other Presidents, who were not military 
men, have had persons holding military com- 
missions in their service. Mr. Lincoln had 
Major John Hay, who held a commission in 
the army, with him for many months'. Presi- 
dent Johnson crowded the Executive Man- 
sion with military men. He had with him 
Col. Moore, Col. Mo .row, Col. Long, Col. 
Reeves, and Col. I^IcKeever, of the army, 
and Gen. Muzzoy and Col. Robert Johnson, 
his own son, who bad served in the volunteer 
forces. In the face cf this v/ell-known fact 
Mr. Trumbull asks, by way of contrast, the 
question: '"Had Andy Johnson filled the 
White House with officers, wliat would have 
been sa^d about it?'' President Johnson 
not only had these officers with him, but he 
had a company of troops. He had guards 
posted outside of the White House, around 
it, and inside of it. When President Grant 
entered the ^''hite House as President, these 
guardii saluted him. The nest day he sent 
these guards away, and in a few days after 
he sent awa^' four companies of cavalry and 
a regiment of infantry sLa'.ioned in Washing- 
ton. There has not been, for more than two 
years, a soldier nearer than Fort Washington , 
away down on the Pcf;omac. [Applause.] 
Now, my Republican frienas, do you think 
you ought to run to the Cincinnati Conven- 
tion because Gen. Grant has with him two of 
his old staff officers ? 

But Mr. Trumbull tells us that we have 
a law that military men should not be 
appointed to civil offices, nor perform the- 
duty of civil offices. The accusation, there- 
fore, is that General Grant keeps these 
staff officers of the army in the Execu- 
tive Mansion in vioUtiou of law. I take 
i.ssue with Mr. Trumbull upon that allega- 
tion. The law does not apply to the ease 
of these officers and was never intended 
to apply to them. I know whereof I 
affirm. These officers were in the Execu 
tive Mansion when I reported the bill, and I 
affirm that it was not my intention, nor the 
intention of the military committee, nor the 



iutentioii of Congress, to apply this act to 
these off cers ; and that it does not upply to 
these officers. They are filling no civil of- 
fices known to the hiw, pert'orniing no duties 
of ci''il offices known to the law. They have 
no civil respons-ibiliiies, aie held by law to 
no responsibilities, and receive no compen- 
sation for the labor they perform for the 
President. Should they leave the Executive 
Mansion, or be sent, to their position in the 
army, they would resign no otHces, would 
he removed from no offices, and no persons 
could be app'^inted to take their places. 

This is not only the correct view of the case, 
but it. was the view taken by Mr. Trumbull 
■when this act v/as pending in the Senate on 
the 12ch of May, 1870. in that debate Mr. 
Trumbull said, to fulfill the functions of a 
civil office, an officer "must be the officer;" 
he must have the power of the office if he 
performs the functions of the office. I do 
not understand that a person can fulfill the 
functions of a civil office, unless he hold the 
; ivil office. lie must be the officer. T&at 
is the meaning of the section as I under; tan J 
it. The offices of p'^^ivate secretaiy and as- 
sistant secretary ar6'' filled by civilians who 
are' on duty at the White House. These 
military officers do not fill the offices of pri- 
vate aocretary and assistant secretary, nor 
perform their duties. These military offi- 
cers iiold no Civil office known to tlie law, 
u'-id. accordii'g to Mr. Trumbull's definition 
of the act, they canuot fulfill the luuctious 
of civil offices unless they are the officers. 
in iiati'jg the aid of thesze officers at the 
Uhite House the President his violated no 
iaw : Eor can the people be made to believe 
that the detail of a couple of army officers — 
cid members of h'n staff during the war — to 
aid him in opening and reading his letters, 
&ni in his other multifanous labors endau- 
gc-.g their liberties. 

The Republican party has been f>r years 
:'Ccused of violating the Constitution ; of 
■lisumptious of power ; of centralizing ten- 
ioacies; and of encroachments upon the 
ights of the States. These accusations were 
:aa-dc dRring the war, and since the war. 
J:s measures for the det'ense of the country, 
and for the suppression of the rebellion, for 
the emancipation of the slaves, and for their 
enfranchisement, were b;tte,i-ly denounced as 
palpable violations of the Constitution. Its 
jraud series of acts for patriotism and 
liberty, that history will record and the 
";^'orId will remember, have been denounced 
is assumptions of power, and arbitrary en- 
croachments upon the rights of the States 
and the liijcrties of the people. The men 
who propose to go to Cincinnati join in this 
■work of denunciation. Mr. Trumbull comes 
here and makes those accu.sations aguinst |* 
the Republican party, and especially against 
the Administration. But if Congress has as- 



I sumed unw.arrauted powers, if it has en- 

j croached on the reserved rights of th« States, 

if its legislation has tended to centralization, 

; Mr. Trumbull mu.-,t share with us the rospon- 

sibilityfortheseassumpticns, encroachments, 

aid tendencies. Surely it does not be;ome 

the author of the civil rights act. that goes 

i farther, in the direction he now condemns, 

j than all other measures we have ever pas.sed, 

j to reproach those of us who followed his lead. 

! Mr. Truml)ull join', too, in the outcry, 

! now so rife, about the corruption of the Ad- 

' mini.-tration. I have no apologies to maUtj 

for the corrupt practices nf any set of men, 

whether they be political friends or foe.i. If 

there is a man on the face of the globe that 

despises a thief I am the man. [Applause.] 

If there is a man that loathes a liej)ublicaQ 

thief more than any other, I am the man. 

[Applause.] In my conception, the bos3 

jthi^f of the universe. Bill Tweed, in view of 

j his surroundings, associations, and opportu- 

I nities, is quite an innocent person, in com- 

I parison with that giOfH who joiua the great 

; Uepublican party ^-iij^he Un'tHl Slates, with 

!it;«Tioly mission alTa work, ar.d then betrays 

I high trusts, violates the Divine command, 

.steals from the country that honored him, 

and disgraces ths party that trusted him. 

! [Applause.] 

j \Vhen Andrew Johnson was in powrr, you 
I know, and I know, the demoralized coudi- 
tion of the public service. Fairhlesa public 
men held office, the whisky ling rioted in 
corruption. The liepublican party, i.i Na- 
Itional Convention, pbdged its'Jf to check, 
j and, if possible, to extir- a:e this corrup:ion. 
I General Grant heartily joined in that great 
I work. What ii the reiiuU? The whisky 
j ring is dead. The revenues from whieky 
I have been increased every year fourfold 
I over the last year of Johnson's administra- 
tion. General Grant's admmis' ration has 
arrested, tried, and convicted more thieves 
than all the Administrations from 178?. 
There have been, in thirty-five mcnths, ar- 
rested, tried, convicted, at»d puniehcd b/ 
fine or imprisonment, two handred and 
seven ^y■ eight men, not in office, for robbing 
and cheating the Government, or aittmpting 
to rob and cheat the Governmeut. Several 
faithless office-holders have been arrested, 
tried, convicted, fined, or imprisoned ; and 
some of them are sleeping in petiicntiaries 
to night. [Applause.] 

Every department of the Government 
has been, during the past three years, 
hone.''tly, persistently, and' effectively en- 
gaged in detecting, exposing, and pun- 
ishing office-holders and others, who have 
cheatpd the Goverument, or stolen the 
public moneys. The resulr^s have beeo 
that less than oue-fifecnth part of one 
per cent, of the coUcciions and ex- 
penditures of the Government has boea 



stolen ; a less percentage, I believe, than 
has been stolen under any Administration 
for forty years. I have undoubting faith that 
President Grant and the heads of depart- 
ments will continue their reformatory work, 
and tliat thieves, defaulters, and smugglers 
•will be hunted down, and punished when- 
ever found. [Anplause.] It is a singular 
fact that, while General Grant is bitterly as- 
sailed and his administration denounced as 
corrupt, for personal ends and partisan pur 
poses, there is no question of the fact that 
he isthebestabusedand hated man in Amer- 
ica by these same defaulters, thieves, smug- 
glers, and defrauders of the revenue, as also 
by the dishonored, corrupt, and tainted pol- 
iticians of the land. 

Accusations have been recently made 
against the Secretary of the Navy. Mr. 
Trumbull joins in those accusations. He ac- 
cused the Secretary here the other nigtt with 
having violated the law in the examination 
and payment of a claim of Secor & Co. for 
$93,000. He gave i^'o be distinctly under- 
stood that Secor & J5. had claims sfgainst 
the Government; that they had been submit- 
ted to a board ; that the board had reported 
upon these claims the sum of $115,000 as 
foil payment for these claimants ; that the 
case had been reopened, referred to another 
board, and $93,000 had been paid by the 
Secretary in violation of law; paid out of ap- 
propriatioas, too, in violation of law ; and 
that his action had been sustained by the 
Second Comptroller of the Treasury. This 
is the substance of the accusation. 

Gentlemen, this is one of the most ground- 
less — and unjust, too — accusations ever made 
against a public man in America. It is based 
upon the merest technicalities, and has not 
the element of justice or fair play in it. The 
Secretary has lav/ on his side, and equity on 
his side. Gentlemen, whenever I hear that 
there is any misconduct in any of the De- 
partments, I feel it my duty immediately to 
communicate the fact to the pi'oper officers. 
Whenever accusations are made that have 
the semblance of truth, I believe it my duty 
to go to the proper officers and ascertain the 
facts. I believe it not only wrong to steal 
and apologize for or justify theft, but I be- 
lieve it quite as wrong to make false accusa- 
tions, or to sustain others in making false 
accusations. I have examined this case. I 
know Mr. Robeson, the Secretary of the 
Navy. I believe him to be a man of capacity 
and lideiity — of individual honor and per- 
Bonal character. I went to him for an ex- 
planation. His explanation satisfied me that 
he had violated no law and sanctioned no 
corruption. I went to Mr. Brodhead, the 
Second Comptroller. I knew his capacity, 
his long and large experience, and his purity 
and. integrity. I knew that this inflexible 
iLtegiity, this large experience, and great 



knowledge had saved millions of dollars to- 
the United States. To my question he re- 
plied that he had given the subject the most 
careful consideration, and that the Secretary 
had acted strictly according to law, and that 
he had justice and equity on his side. 

This claim was not considered by the. 
board appointed by the act of 1867. It was 
a claim for mattrial and labor, not a claim 
for damages. The Secretary of the Navy 
had full, complete, and ample power to set- 
tle all claims for material or labor. He had 
no authority, however, to settle claims for 
damages occasioned by the delays of the 
Government. The act of 1867 was intended u 
to 'Cover that class of claims for damages, 
and not claims for material and labor ; and 
the board of officers so construed it and 
acted upon it. That board reported $115,- 

000 for claims for damages ; but it never 
considered the claims for labor and material 
at all, knowing that the Secretary had ful!, 
complete, and ample power to settle that 
class of claims. The law of 1868 authorized 
the payment of th^tsum of §115,000, re- 
ported by the board. The receipt in full 
was not to be for all claims, but for all 
claims passed upon by that board ; not for 
all claims on account of the vessels, as is 
asserted, but for all claims on account of the 
vessels upon which the board made its al- 
lowance, as per report. This claim for 
$93,000 for material and labor — which kad 
not been paid or allowed — had been re- 
served for further consideration. Its various 
items were examined by a board of officers, 
and were reported to be "correct and jnst 
charges." They were ordered to be- paid 
and were paid from money in the Treasury 
for purposes of construction, out of which 
like claims had been paid by the former 
Secretary. This claim for $93,000, allowed 
by the board and paid by the Secretary, w;. 
a claim for material and labor, and not . 
claim for damages. It is admitted that 
was not considered by the board appointc 
according to the act of 18G7, nor was it r< 
jected by it. It was a debt, not barn 
either by the letter or by the spirit of tl\ 
law. Tins was the view of the Secretary t 
the Navy and the final decision of the Secon-. 
Comptroller of the Treasury ; and they acted, jj 

1 conscientiously believe, in obedience to I 
law and according to the claims of justic; 
and equity. 

Gentlemen, I tell you what I know to t < 
true, that under this Administration li i 
revenues have been annually increased 1'2 . 
tens of millions under the same revenue? 
laws, simply by their more faithful enforce- ' 
ment. The expenses of the nation havi 
been annually diminished through me." 
vigilance and economy by tens of in''.- 
lions annually. All the departments of the 
Government at Washington have been jir- 



■ v.-ed, matle more efficient, and their forces 
aii.i expenses reduced. Much has been 
Jo;;;'. Mure should be done, and, f am 
conQdc'at, more will be done- 

Bit Mr. Trumbull tellrf you, here in New 
York, that we cannot reduce expenses be- 
cause the office-holders are so powerful, 
rio tiil!i.s about reducing the e.vpenses of the 

)vornraent fifty millions annually. _ Mr. 

•;:nbull has been seventeen years in the 
Senate of the Uiii'ied States. He is a man 
of capacity and e.xperlenoe. He knows 
how to do public business. Has he devised 
or proposed auy plan by which the expenses 
of the Crovernment shall be annually reduced 
fift;y millions of dollars, ten millions of dol- 
lars, five millions of dollars, or even one 
million of dollars? I am ready, 1 am sure 
the Senate is reaJy, I believe the Adminis- 
tration is ready, to follow the lead of Mr. 
Ti-umbull, or aiiy other Senator, in any pnic- 
tical measure that proposes or that tends to 
reduce the expendiiurcs of the Government- 
[Applause.] 

Sixty- one per cent, of the annual expen- 
ditures grew out of the war. Take out 
those iacri-ased expenditures, and the ex- 
penses of th-^ Government, measure! by the 
;old standard, have not kept pace wilh the 
i;icreased population and wealth of the na- 
tion. Mr. Trumbull was wide of the mark, 
)0, in his statements concerning the ex- 
penses and debts of the reconstructed States. 
Great mistakes have been honestly made in 
those States, especially in regard to the con- 
struction of railroads, and great corrupLion 
has disgraced both the legislation and ad 
miuiitratiou of some of those governments. 
The corrupt practices have received, and 
, should ever receive, the reprobation and 
sternest condemnation of the country. But 
it 13 a violation of truth and justice to hold 
the National Government responsible, or 
that class of men, so flippantly denounced as 
carpet-baggers, wholly responsible for these 
corrupt practices. While many of these 
denounced carpet baggers have been dere- 
lict to the duties imposed upon them, and 
the opportu.';ity opened to them, to serve 
the State and win honored names, the gre it 
body of them, men, and women too, have 
advocated measures and labored with earn 
estaess and self sacrifice f-T their promo- 
tica, for the goneral improvement of those 
States, and especially for the elevation of 
the freedmea. 

These g.^ntlemen, who are running away 
from the people, chide the rank and file of 
the party f )r sending delegates to the na- 
tional convention to favor the nomination of 
General Grant. They :iay that the per pie 
are for Grant because they are led by oihce 
holders. New York, they tell us, is gov- 
erned by office-holders ; Massachusetts is 
governed by office holders ; other States are 



governed by oflBce-holders ; the East, the 

West, and the South are all governed by 
office-holders. These poor, deluded fellows, 
who have such exalted i<leas of the omnipo- 
tence of office- holders, and sucii poor opinn>Q 
of the credulity and imbecility of the masses, 
should realize that the people of thU great 
country now number forty millions. They 
.should remember tb.at they have passed 
through one of the greatest wars in the his- 
tory of the world ; that, when leaders and 
presses faltered, they said, '• We will tight it 
ouf to the end; take our money, take our sons, 
take our blood, we will fight and we will die 
for the country, b>it the nation shall live." 
Gentlemen, the mafses of the people are now 
•'somebody"' in this country. They have 
held conventions in fourteen States. There is 
no evidence that a single delegate w,>s elected 
who is against the renomination of General 
Grant. ! here is no evidence that there was 
a single delegate in any one of the:e conven- 
tions opposed to the President. There is uo 
evidence that there is a school di~trict,_not 
one, which has an anti-Grant Republican 
majority in it. In spite of the opposition 
of leading papers, and the known opinion cf 
eminent public men, the people have ex- 
pressed themselves wi:h unparalleled public 
unanimity. [Applause.] The conductors 
of great journals who boast of their inde- 
pamience, but who forget tha*. they have 
been teaching the people to be quite as 
independent as themselves, acd politicians, 
who have the idea that poUlioal affairs are 
always to be managed, forgetful of the great 
truth that the true way to manage is to let 
management alone, to keep Oianaging hands 
off, and to let things move right along in 
their natural channel, do not comprehend 
this action of the people. 

Gentlemen, I will teil you why it is that 
these edit-jrs. Senators, and politicians, who 
assume to direct public opinion, do not un- 
derstand the action of the people, and why 
Aey ascribe (hat action to the dominating 
%fl"uence and control of the office-holders. 
They forget that in the civil war Gen. Grant 
commanded more than a million of men. 
They forget that the fathers and mothers, 
brothers and sist-:>r3, wives and children, 
kindred and friends of these hero«3 in the 
field who were Gjhting, bleeding, and dying 
for their country, recugniaed Gen.. Grant as 
the g!-(fat leader in the war. They forget 
thit these heroic men and their kladredand 
friends were grateful to Lim for aervic.iS he 
then rendered the country, and that they 
have not forgotten those services at ihe bid- 
ding of aspiiing and disappointed ambition. 
[Applause.] 

The Ame.ican niBeses remombor that Gen- 
eral Grant enteredlhe war a poor, unknown 
man, and that, against the eharp competition 
of two millions cf brave men who went into 



the army, he came to the head, won an il- 
lustrious name, and has a glorious military 
record behind him. They see that he has 
reduced the expenses of the Government 
by tens of millions annually, and that he 
has made our paper currency and bonds 
worth twenty per cent, more than they 
were when he came into power. [Ap- 
plause.] They see that he hsis paid in 
thirty-seven months three hundred and fif- 
teen million dollars of the national debt, 
and they believe he will pay ten or twelve 
millions more the present month. [Ap- 
plause. ] They see that he has raised the 
national credit so that we can borrow money 
at five per cent, in the markets of the world. 
They see that his firmness and adherence to 
the plighted faith of the nation has made a 
public sentiment so strong, for maintaining, 
unsullied, the good faith of the nation, that 
no Democratic National Convention dare go 
into Tammany hall, or any other hall, and 
proclaim the wicked financial theories an- 
nounced here four years ago. [Applause.] 
They see that he has adopted a humane and 
Christian Indian policy — a policy worthy of 
a Christian and Republican Government. 
[Applause.] They see, too, that he has 
oised his great influence, the authority of his 
high position, and the power of the Govern- 
ment to protect the poor freedman against 
the murderous blows of the Ku-Klux Klans. 
[Applause. ] Seeing these things the masses 
of the people who have no personal favors to 
ask and no grievances to avenge have come 
to believe that General Grant's adminis- 
tration, with all its faults, is conducted on 
a higher plane, in both its foreign and do- 
mestic policy, than the nation has seen for 
forty years. So believing they reject the 
counsels of disappointed ambition, of per- 
sonal passion, prejudice, and interest, while 
they still give their confidence, with their 
abiding faith, to him on whom they learned 
to lean so trustingly in the dark night of 
war, and of the nation's peril. 

I call upon gentlemen to give up this chaf- 
fering with the Democratic leaders, and this 
managing to baffle the purposes of the Re- 
publican masses. Come back, I pray you, 
to ourHMmks. They are open to receive you. 
Go with us to the Philadelphia Convention. 
You have the unquestionable right to advo- 
cate and vote for the candidate of your 
choice. No one has the right to question 
you, or criticise you, or to denounce you, for 
SD doing. Give to the Republican party, in 
National Convention assembled, your opin- 
ions, your advice, and your influence. L^t 
the popular will govern. Bow to it. Help 
lis carry the country, make secure the work 



of the past, complete what remains to be 
done for the rights of man and the interests 
of the nation. I say to those Republicans 
who are turning their backs upon us, in all 
the sincerity of my heart, that it is a painful 
thing to break up old associations, to sepa- 
rate from old friends, with whom we have 
sorrowed in defeat and rejoiced in victory. 
Come back to us, let us go unitedly into the 
impending conflict, resolved to have fall pos- 
session of the Democratic banners before we 
furl forever the Republican flag. 

Mr. Schurz, the other night, closed his elo- 
quent speech which had in it more asser- 
tion than logic, more rhetoric than fact, with 
the prediction that their banners within a 
twelve-month would float over the dome of 
the capitol. I will follow his example and 
make my prediction. He predicted that the 
banners of the nominees of the Cincinnati 
Convention would float over the capitol. I 
predict that the nominees of that conven- 
tion, if not supported by the Democratic 
party, will not receive an electoral vote in 
the United States, [applause;] that, if eap- 
ported by the Democratic party, the Repub- 
licans will carry from twenty-five to thirty 
States for the nominees of the Philadelphia 
Convention. Mr. Schurz refers to his obser- 
vation and experiences, as assurances of the 
accuracy of his calculations. I, too, will refer 
to my observation and experiences, although 
it may not be an evidence of my modesty 
to do so. I have looked into the faces of 
more men in political assemblages than any 
public man in America. [Applause.] I 
think I have some little knowledge of public 
men, of political organizations, and cf the 
sentiments and feelings of masses. I was 
not mistaken in the votes of 1850 nor of 
1880. In 1864 I stated before the election 
how the votes would stand, and I did cot 
miscalculate the vote of a single State. In 
18G8 I stated before the election how each 
State would vote, but I was mistaken in the 
vote of New York. I did not then fully 
comprehend the counting powers of Tam- 
many hall. [Laughter and applause.] 

V predict here to-night that the nomi- 
nee of the Philadelphia Convention will be 
elected President of the Dnited States. Re- 
p*ublicans of the great commercial capital of 
the Republic ! Let us be kind and concilia- 
tory, and treat our erring friends, not as ene- 
mies, but as temporarily estranged com- 
rades. If they, against our remonstrances, 
protests, and entreaties, turn away from ns 
and bid us farewell, they will then have 
proved false to political associations and 
friendships, and recreant to their own past acts 
and recorded opinions. [Loud applause.] 



LIBRARY OF 



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